Pastor Oberlin and His Wonderful Work
By A. T. Pierson
Pastor Oberlin’s kingdom, like that of his Master’s, came without observation. The story is one of the most remarkable that has ever been written, though very little is known about it in the church at large. Johann Friedrich Oberlin was born in 1740, and died in 1826, very nearly completing eighty-six full years. He was distinguished by active benevolence and wide usefulness. The special field of his labors was Waldbach, in the Ban de la Roche, or Steinthal, a wild, mountainous region of Alsace. His work in this district began in 1766, and therefore covers a period of two-score years. We question whether any similar period has been passed in work more thoroughly apostolic in character, more unselfish in spirit, or more permanent in substantial results. Oberlin was a philanthropist in the very best sense, and has been called “The Apostle of Alsace.” Although it was a home field as to locality, it was, in all essential respects, virtually a foreign missionary work, for even the South Sea Islanders were scarcely more heathen or uncivilized than the inhabitants of that isolated district. Though they were marked by some of the substantial characteristics of the Germans, and were not much given to crimes or violence, they had a reputation for a savage disposition, which kept others from intruding upon them. Their mountain fastnesses were like fortresses, into which there was little desire to attempt an entrance. When Oberlin first went among them, they were already reverting to their original barbarism; they no longer built houses, or even tilled their fields. They lived on the wild products of the ground, and such wild animals or game as their forests supplied. Oberlin understood the character of the people, but applied for the position as pastor to five widely scattered villages of the district. He had lived all his life at Strasburg, where his father was a professor in the university. His own scholarly attainments might well have secured for him an exalted position there, but the destitute and neglected condition of the inhabitants of Waldbach appealed to him. His affianced bride, Salome Witter, encouraged his purpose, and could not be persuaded to let him go alone. She had a spirit like his own, and the misery, poverty, and wretchedness of this people rather attracted than repelled her. Oberlin went to his chosen field of labor, and took up his abode in a half-ruined stone hut, which he undertook to make comfortable. The people looked with surprise at the labors of the new pastor; what more could a man desire than to have a roof over him with a hole by which to carry off the smoke! He secured doors and windows, built a chimney, separated the hut into four rude rooms, cleared a little space about it, and planted a garden. All this he did not only for his own comfort, but because he felt that these wild people needed an example of decency and order. Conversations upon spiritual themes were not comprehended by intellects dulled by neglect, but the presence of a well-regulated Christian home among them proved to be one of the first conditions of a gospel witness. He undertook to persuade the people to till the ground and raise potatoes, and when he had raised a crop, their astonishment was unbounded. As the family of Oberlin and his wife grew, their children took part in their agricultural work, so that the whole family was a standing rebuke to the idleness and sluggishness of their neighbors. The Coming of Louise Scheppler
Perhaps the most important event at this stage in Oberlin’s life was the taking into his family of a thirteen-year-old girl by the name of Louise Scheppler. At that time his wife was borne down by domestic burdens, so that help became necessary. There was no one in the district who was fitted to become an inmate of the pastor’s house. Their sympathy was, however, awakened on behalf of Louise, who was left an orphan by the death of her father. After much consultation and prayer, they took her into their family. The same care which had turned the wilderness into a garden was blessed in turning this little waif into a helper and friend. She was by nature patient and industrious, humble and gentle, and rapidly became not only a capable servant, but a faithful companion and wise counselor. After the death of Oberlin’s wife in 1786, she became like a second mother to the children, the youngest a mere infant. There were also the fields to till, cattle to tend, food to prepare, clothes to wash, and, in a sense, the whole parish to guide. It is remarkable how God raises up servants and adapts them for the work he has for them to do. Louise Scheppler proved herself to be created in Christ Jesus for good works. For example, Oberlin had set up schools for boys and girls, and Louise became the teacher. She instructed the girls in useful domestic arts (sewing, ironing, and cooking), as well as reading and writing, while Oberlin sought to train the lads not only by books, but by nature studies. He established a book club and lending library, and set up a kind of branch Bible society. Having no little knowledge of herbs and simple drugs, he also put a dispensary into working order. The Genesis of Industrial Exhibits
Other forms of useful public institutions were the fruits of Louise’s invention and observation. She noticed that the humble villagers were, like children, easily stimulated by praises and prizes, and it occurred to her to establish a little agricultural exhibit, where year after year they could show the progress in agricultural implements, and the improvement in vegetables and fruits produced. Prizes were given to stimulate competition. This idea, first evolved from the shrewd brain of a rude Alsatian peasant girl, was the starting-point of all the great international competitions and monster exhibitions in history. At this time the population, which consisted of eighty households when Oberlin went to the district, had increased eightfold, and the industries of the people compared favorably with those of the best parts of France. They carried on cotton-spinning, weaving, and dyeing, straw plaiting, clock-making, etc., and in 1816 a ribbon-making plant was established. Louise Scheppler not only interested herself in all these various employments, but became an adept, that she might instruct others. Another idea was now evolved from her active brain. It occurred to her to set up a public nursery, that the little children might be cared for while the mothers were engaged in necessary work. Here she took care of most of the little ones, who would otherwise have been neglected. It is remarkable that this young girl, taken from a half-savage family and community, should have become, in a sense, the originator of three of the great enterprises—the industrial expositions, the day nurseries, and the kindergarten. When Pastor Oberlin died, his funeral was attended by not only his own flock, but by many dignitaries of church and state from other parts of France and elsewhere. He had obtained a world-wide reputation as pastor, reformer, counselor, philanthropist, and for unequaled self-denial. At this time Louise Scheppler was past sixty, and in his will he left his children to her care, giving a noble tribute to her unselfish life of service. In his last legacy he informed his children that she had always refused to accept any wages, or even her own clothes, meeting her necessary expenses with the proceeds of her own toil. The family unanimously desired her to accept a daughter’s share of the property; this, however, she absolutely refused, asking only to be allowed to hold the position which for so many years she had kept as a sort of foster-mother in the family. To the day of her death she devoted herself to the public nursery, which she especially superintended. This story shows the power of a well-regulated Christian home, the effect of personal industry on a sluggish and idle population. It suggests methods by which rude and barbarous people may not only be won, but may be led up into the higher paths of prosperity and Christian advancement. It is one of God’s great lessons to the church of all ages.—A. T. Pierson, in Missionary Review of the World.